Winter Cabin Party

In February, my siblings and I threw a surprise party for my parents' birthdays. They are the same age-- just born three days apart-- and they were turning 60 so we knew we had to do something special.

They thought they were going to a winter cabin party adoption event. I even made a fake flyer about the fake event and put it on my fridge.

Of course last minute my dad had to go and make it difficult and say he might not come because he was really tired that day. I had to give him a big guilt trip about Jayden wanting him there.

There was a big snow storm right before the party. It made the park absolutely beautiful, but my brother's flight was cancelled. I was so sad because it was going to be a huge surprise that my brother was there. We live in NY and he lives in Oregon so it's not often he can come home. It would have been awesome. My sister did come from Boston though so that was a great surprise. My parents didn't even realize she was there for a while. They were talking to everyone else and then all of a sudden saw her. It was so fun. There were a couple other people that were big surprises too.

 Cake

 Party Favors

 

 

Centerpieces

I am now selling these centerpieces in my shop!
You can go here to check them out: So Much To Celebrate

The hit of the party was definitely the hot chocolate bar. 

 Fun with photo props (which can be purchased from So Much To Celebrate)

As it got to the end of the night, Jayden took the broom out and started sweeping. It was like he was saying, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." 

This is how I found him in his car seat when we got home. He partied hard.

I am so happy we were able to pull this party off. They were truly surprised and it's a day they will remember.

Jayden's 2nd Birthday

Jayden's 2nd Birthday!

When he woke up, there was a present waiting for him from his friends- the two toddlers I watch.

His friends tried to help him open the box with forks from the play kitchen :)

Watching Happy Birthing Signing Time.

 Jay's favorite toy.

 Adam got out of work early and we took Jay to the museum.

This was Jay's favorite part. He loves Elmo's World and he kept running back to see Mr. Noodle.

Every time he heard Elmo's song, he ran back to dance.

Back to see Mr. Noodle again.

 Sometimes you can work better if you sit on the table.

 Jay loves letters and numbers.

 Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner, presents, and cake.

 Diego!

Jay wanted to play ball with Diego.

He also wanted to take a picture. He told Diego and Grandma to say "Cheese!"

Elmo cupcake!

It was such a fun day. I can't believe he is two.

At his doctor appointment, we found out he is 34 inches tall and about 22 lbs. On the small side, but completely healthy.

He knows all his letters and numbers 1-10, can count to 10, and can say the whole alphabet. He learned it all without me ever teaching them to him directly. My mom didn't believe me until she did out of order alphabet flash cards with him, hehe. Sure enough, he knew every single one. I am so proud of him. He's talking more each day and I love it.

He is still signing a lot. He knows well over 100 signs. Signing has been amazing for us. He has always had a way to communicate with me and I have learned so much about him from his signing. There were so many times I realized he was making clever connections between things that I never would have assumed he understood. Even now that he can talk more, sometimes I can't understand what he is saying and he will sign it too and then I will understand. I think he will be signing long after he can talk. He is still very interested in learning signs.

He loves music and dancing. There are a bunch of songs that he knows a good amount of the words to that he sings along with. There is nothing I love more than hearing him sing. If a movie is on, he will play and ignore it, but when the credits start, he jumps up and runs over so he can dance. It makes us laugh every time.

He is so funny. He makes all these jokes and does silly things. He has always had a sense of humor- even as a baby- but he's grown into this cool little person that I can laugh and joke with.

He is obsessed with every piece of electronics in our house. I have to hide my Nook from him. I am not allowed to read anything on it. It's full of books and apps for him. Even though I hide it, he still manages to find it. When he woke up the other day he climbed the bookshelf and yelled "Found it!" He was holding the Nook with a huge smile on his face. He can work the TiVo, DVD player, Netflix streaming, phones, radios, and all the remotes in the house. If you leave a remote or phone on a shelf where he can see it, it is the same as giving it to him. He will climb anything to get it.

He loves going to the park. I have to hold my breath because he climbs up so high and goes down really tall slides. His favorite thing at the park is the swings. He loves playing with older kids and will follow them anywhere. He's athletic and can keep up pretty well with throwing and kicking balls, jumping, and running with older kids.

Even though he has grown into this strong independent person, he is still so sweet and cuddly. He falls asleep in my arms for every nap and every night when he goes to bed.

We're still co-sleeping. We changed his crib into a toddler bed because we'll never go back to a crib. Sleeping together was definitely the right choice for us. We all can get sleep this way. Every single night when we get into bed, Adam talks about how lucky we are to have Jayden. The extra time with him is nice. He won't always want to sleep in our bed with us. We're enjoying the extra snuggles while they last.

Sometimes I get really sad thinking about how he's not a baby anymore, but most of the time I am just excited to watch him grow. It's been so much fun so far.